Lynn Goldsmith Wins Fair Use Case in Highly Anticipated SCOTUS Showdown
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In one of the more highly anticipated Supreme Court cases in recent memory that concerns fair use, SCOTUS delivered its opinion yesterday ruling against Andy Warhol’s estate. The case dealt with whether Andy Warhol could use a photograph of Prince by Lynn Goldsmith for a series of pop-art images that his estate later licensed to Conde Nast. In 1981, Goldsmith was hired by Newsweek to take pictures of Prince. Three years later, Vanity Fair asked Warhol to create a portrait of Prince using Goldsmith’s photo. Goldsmith was paid $400, and the license stated that Vanity Fair could use the photo for a single issue. However, Warhol went above and beyond the license and created 16 more images based on Goldsmith’s photo. Warhol’s works were later displayed in museums, galleries, etc. When Prince died, Vanity Fair used one of those 16 images on the cover for a commemorative issue. Vanity Fair paid Warhol’s estate over $10,000 to use the image, whereas Goldsmith received nothing. Goldsmith later sued Warhol’s estate for copyright infringement. After bouncing around the lower courts, it reached the Supreme Court, and here we are today.
The effect of the case limits fair use as far as visual art is concerned. This case can have far reaching consequences, and the question remains, given the court’s stance, what will happen in the wake of AI?
For a summary of the case (and a link to the opinion), read my blog here.